The Evolution Of Man: Coach Magazine

“The ability to grow a moustache before sunset and bench press over 100kg is of no interest to the modern day man.”

On Wednesday morning Team Maxi/UA headed down to a (rather stiflingly hot!) Century Club to attend a talk all around the ‘Evolution of Man’, presented by Dennis Publishing.

Dennis is the organisation responsible for producing magazines such as Coach, Men’s Fitness and Alpha Mag, and have a wealth of manly magazine wisdom. This 40 years of male magazine production has given Dennis a great understanding of ‘What it means to be a man’ and how man has changed over the years. Kiss goodbye to the typical ‘Alpha Male’ we all know and … know. Nowadays, it’s the Alta-Male we all strive to be.

“What is an ‘Alta-Male’?” you may ask….well an Alta-Male is challenging the perceptions of masculinity and what it means to be a man. A bloke. A lad. Thing is, in the present day there’s no definitive meaning behind ‘masculinity’ – it comes in so many forms, and none are any worse or better than others.

Extensive research via Join The Dots was carried out in the form of focus groups and surveys to find out what inspires, informs and entertains the modern day man and what are their key values? Simply put, there were three core drivers we all should swear by:

– Achieve Balance
– Be Authentic
– Stick To It

The research shows that the ‘Alta-Male’ wants to find the perfect balance between family life and work life, and that 79% of males would change their job if it meant they could spend more time with their families. Furthermore, males want to be authentic nowadays and no longer conform to what society wants them to be. Finally, ‘stick to it’ refers to the fact that many males are looking for new hobbies for the simple fact that they want to better themselves.